Bar owners in New Jersey — a National Football League battleground between fans of the Giants and the Eagles — are being encouraged to ban guns ahead of the teams’ Saturday division playoff.
(Bloomberg) — Bar owners in New Jersey — a National Football League battleground between fans of the Giants and the Eagles — are being encouraged to ban guns ahead of the teams’ Saturday division playoff.
In a Jan. 17 tweet, Attorney General Matt Platkin wrote that bar and restaurant owners “CAN display signs prohibiting guns.” He added: “Whether they’re sporting midnight green or rooting for Big Blue, let’s keep all fans and patrons safe this weekend.”
Platkin’s remarks were prompted by a June 23 US Supreme Court decision that struck down states’ limitations on carrying handguns. New Jersey, which has some of the nation’s strictest gun-control laws, was sued by Second Amendment advocates on Dec. 22, the same day Democratic Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation to keep guns out of most public places.
New Jersey has no NFL team to call its own, though the state’s MetLife Stadium serves as home for both New York’s Giants and Jets. Giants territory is roughly north of Interstate 195, with Philadelphia Eagles land to the south. Saturday’s game is at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where fans take pride in loutish behavior, including rioting and looting after their 2018 Super Bowl hometown win.
The two teams played twice during the regular season. The Eagles won both games and are favored in Saturday’s. Divisional-round winners proceed to conference championships, whose victors head to the Feb. 12 Super Bowl.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.